A ride you’d rather not have

Ryerson offered students a free bus ride to the Rams men’s and women’s soccer games at Monarch Park Stadium on Sunday.

A grand total of one student was on board.

Former Ryerson men’s soccer player Mikhail Farquharson, who was the student on the bus, said he is not surprised by the turnout, or lack thereof.

“It could be because it’s at 11 a.m. on Sunday. People are lazy and no one wants to get up early,” Farquharson said.

Associate director of athletics Stephanie White also took the bus and was extremely disappointed by the turnout.

“We need more spirit. We have to find a way to get fans to games. It’s such a shame because we have the facilities and we give opportunities for students to go,” she said.

White agrees the time of the games may be a deciding factor for students and is considering providing transportation for night games instead.

The Ryerson athletics department takes the initiative to provide students with free transportation to one game a year, with the odd addition for tournaments or playoffs.

For four or five years now, the university has tried to make it easier for students to go out and support the teams.

“Most people don’t live close to campus so it presents a challenge for a lot of people,” said sports information co-ordinator Jim McLarty.

“There is also so much always going on in the city. It also depends on weather and how interested people are.”

The bus budget comes out of the athletics department’s budget because they believe it is worth trying to get students to watch sports games.

McLarty says sports are the heartbeat of the campus and it’s important to create a sense of community.

What many Ryerson students may not know is that the men’s and women’s soccer teams are good this year.

The men are the No. 5 nationally ranked team and beat the University of Toronto Blues Sunday 3-0. Ryerson (7-0-1) continues to hold on to first place in the OUA east division standings.

The women are on the rise but had their recent winning streak ended on Sunday afternoon 1-0, also against the Blues. Despite the loss, both games were exciting and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The men and women have their next home games Oct. 12 and 13 against RMC and Queen’s at Monarch Park Stadium.

Find your own ride.

This story was first published in The Ryersonian, a weekly newspaper produced by the Ryerson School of Journalism, on October 2, 2013.

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